Jenni here--Baby Ivy arrived today at 1:05 pm. Mommy, daddy, and baby are doing well! She was 7 pounds, 5 oz and 19 inches long. Robyn succeeded in her all natural birthplan.
Pictures and birth story to come (unless you can get on her Facebook where I've tagged pictures).
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Doulas and Natural Childbirth
I had mentioned previously that I desired to have a doula for Ivy's birth, but didn't know if it would be possible due to our finances. Well, I am excited to say that with a lot of prayer, David recently booking more work and our Bradley instructor Mandi working on her certification: this wish and desire of having a doula will become a reality! I am absolutely excited!!! :D
Prior to becoming pregnant I had no clue what a doula was. It wasn't until after David and I decided that we wanted a Natural Childbirth and doing some research, did I become familiar with the concept of having a doula. Since, then I have realized that I wasn't the minority in not knowing what a doula is and in fact most people don't know either. Thus the reason for this post.
What is a doula?
A doulas job is to provide the mother with physical, emotional and informational support before the birth and through out your entire labor.
Your nurses and Dr. have many patients that they are helping and are not able to be with you the entire time. David will be the entire time and I know he will be an awesome coach. He has learned so much from our Bradley classes (I am already so proud of him), but he has never actually been through the process of being a coach yet. When it comes down to it having someone there that has experience is so very beneficial!
Benefits to having a doula:
According to DONA International:
Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.
Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth
* tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
* reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
* reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans
* reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals
American Pregnancy Association states:
"Other studies have shown that having a doula as part of the birth team decreases the overall cesarean rate by 50%, the length of labor by 25%, the use of oxytocin by 40% and the request for an epidural by 60%."
Websites that I found useful and educational:
Dona International
American Pregnancy Association
Doula.com
Prior to becoming pregnant I had no clue what a doula was. It wasn't until after David and I decided that we wanted a Natural Childbirth and doing some research, did I become familiar with the concept of having a doula. Since, then I have realized that I wasn't the minority in not knowing what a doula is and in fact most people don't know either. Thus the reason for this post.
What is a doula?
A doulas job is to provide the mother with physical, emotional and informational support before the birth and through out your entire labor.
Your nurses and Dr. have many patients that they are helping and are not able to be with you the entire time. David will be the entire time and I know he will be an awesome coach. He has learned so much from our Bradley classes (I am already so proud of him), but he has never actually been through the process of being a coach yet. When it comes down to it having someone there that has experience is so very beneficial!
Benefits to having a doula:
According to DONA International:
Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.
Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth
* tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
* reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
* reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans
* reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals
American Pregnancy Association states:
"Other studies have shown that having a doula as part of the birth team decreases the overall cesarean rate by 50%, the length of labor by 25%, the use of oxytocin by 40% and the request for an epidural by 60%."
Websites that I found useful and educational:
Dona International
American Pregnancy Association
Doula.com
Sunday, July 4, 2010
One Month
It's been awhile, I know. But, before I go into updating you all, I just have to say that as of today 07/04, we are a month away from my due date! Wohoo!
Back to the updating. :)
The last several weeks have been busy. Our Bradley classes are going well. We are learning lots. We have also been working on Ivy's room. This has required re-organizing of our entire apartment and many bags of stuff given to Good Will. Ivy's crib is assembled and her bedding arrived this week. I also washed her blankets and NB clothes. We only have a couple of things left to buy in preparation for her arrival. The stroller also arrived and I love, love, love it! I had my shower a couple of weeks ago which was fun, but has also left our place looking like a war zone. I was also sick thanks to my wonderful co-worker, hmmph. Thankfully the cold didn't last long.
And now the most annoying question of all, "How are you feeling?"
Other than the cold I had, if you had asked me recently how I was feeling, I would have said great. But now, not so much. I still think I have had it pretty good compared to a lot of women though. The swollen feet started at about 34 weeks. I was actually still wearing heels up till this point, but once the swelling started, I had to say goodbye to them. I have been trying to keep my feet elevated as much as possible, but that doesn't work so well when you are at work.
I had grand plans to work right up till my due date. Well, I decided this last week to leave earlier than originally planned. I now have officially 2 weeks left before my maternity leave starts. Yay! I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I hoping to work right up to the end. Especially when thanks to the state of CA, I get 4 weeks prior to Ivy getting here and if I don't use it, I loose it.
I think that's enough of an update for now. Hopefully soon I will have an updated belly pic for you all to see. Until then I leave you with a picture from my shower that I stole from my friends blog. Thanks Jenni! :)
Back to the updating. :)
The last several weeks have been busy. Our Bradley classes are going well. We are learning lots. We have also been working on Ivy's room. This has required re-organizing of our entire apartment and many bags of stuff given to Good Will. Ivy's crib is assembled and her bedding arrived this week. I also washed her blankets and NB clothes. We only have a couple of things left to buy in preparation for her arrival. The stroller also arrived and I love, love, love it! I had my shower a couple of weeks ago which was fun, but has also left our place looking like a war zone. I was also sick thanks to my wonderful co-worker, hmmph. Thankfully the cold didn't last long.
And now the most annoying question of all, "How are you feeling?"
Other than the cold I had, if you had asked me recently how I was feeling, I would have said great. But now, not so much. I still think I have had it pretty good compared to a lot of women though. The swollen feet started at about 34 weeks. I was actually still wearing heels up till this point, but once the swelling started, I had to say goodbye to them. I have been trying to keep my feet elevated as much as possible, but that doesn't work so well when you are at work.
I had grand plans to work right up till my due date. Well, I decided this last week to leave earlier than originally planned. I now have officially 2 weeks left before my maternity leave starts. Yay! I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I hoping to work right up to the end. Especially when thanks to the state of CA, I get 4 weeks prior to Ivy getting here and if I don't use it, I loose it.
I think that's enough of an update for now. Hopefully soon I will have an updated belly pic for you all to see. Until then I leave you with a picture from my shower that I stole from my friends blog. Thanks Jenni! :)
Friday, May 14, 2010
~ 28 Weeks
Depending on the book, website or Dr. the 3rd Trimester starts at either 27 or 28 weeks. Well, I am now 28 weeks, so I am definitely in the 3rd Trimester!! I am 2/3 of the way there to meeting little miss Ivy. Only 12 weeks to go!
And to answer the always asked question, "How are you feeling?"
Still pretty good. I am noticing that I am more tired. I almost always sleep the entire night through though. No getting up to go to the bathroom, not yet at least. But when I get to work, I can't stop yawning for the life of me. I think I am just not getting good sound sleep.
I have started to notice that my feet are swelling a tiny bit. I am still wearing my rings. I finally know what heartburn really feels like. I don't get it very often and normally just drinking some milk makes it go away. I am very thankful for that. The out of breath feeling after walking up stairs, that I had in the 1st Trimester has returned. But all of this has been really mild, so I am happy.
I had my gestational diabetes test 2 weeks ago. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. I never heard anything from my Dr. regarding the results, so I am assuming that I passed. We have an appointment with her next week, so if I didn't pass I am sure I will hear about it then.
The Bradley classes are going really well. I like our instructor Mandi a lot. She has given me several books to read though. So that along with all my little exercises that I get to do daily and tracking what I eat, I have been busy! But, it has been a good busy.
Ivy is kicking and moving around a lot lately. Sometimes it feels like she is trying to claw her way out of my stomach. So weird! I tell her to stop sometimes, but then when she has her quiet days, I am wanting her to move around. Never satisfied are we? :) Oh and no kicks to ribs yet, which is good!
Well, that's about it for now. I can't think of anything else. I leave you with a recent bump picture that David took last week. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
27 weeks
And to answer the always asked question, "How are you feeling?"
Still pretty good. I am noticing that I am more tired. I almost always sleep the entire night through though. No getting up to go to the bathroom, not yet at least. But when I get to work, I can't stop yawning for the life of me. I think I am just not getting good sound sleep.
I have started to notice that my feet are swelling a tiny bit. I am still wearing my rings. I finally know what heartburn really feels like. I don't get it very often and normally just drinking some milk makes it go away. I am very thankful for that. The out of breath feeling after walking up stairs, that I had in the 1st Trimester has returned. But all of this has been really mild, so I am happy.
I had my gestational diabetes test 2 weeks ago. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. I never heard anything from my Dr. regarding the results, so I am assuming that I passed. We have an appointment with her next week, so if I didn't pass I am sure I will hear about it then.
The Bradley classes are going really well. I like our instructor Mandi a lot. She has given me several books to read though. So that along with all my little exercises that I get to do daily and tracking what I eat, I have been busy! But, it has been a good busy.
Ivy is kicking and moving around a lot lately. Sometimes it feels like she is trying to claw her way out of my stomach. So weird! I tell her to stop sometimes, but then when she has her quiet days, I am wanting her to move around. Never satisfied are we? :) Oh and no kicks to ribs yet, which is good!
Well, that's about it for now. I can't think of anything else. I leave you with a recent bump picture that David took last week. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
27 weeks
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Ellen Recap
I have been asked by several people to give a recap of Ellen's Mother's Day Show. It was so much fun! Ellen is hilarious and the whole experience of seeing a show tapped was really cool.
She gave away a ton of awesome baby items! David was super stoked about the high chair and video monitor. My favorite gift by far was the stroller. We found a store nearby that carries them and I test drove it around and I am in love!
We had 11 options of colors!! I went back and forth for several days on the color. I finally settled on the red and I can't wait for it to arrive. I am already looking forward to using the bassinet attachment when David has softball games!
I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to get to go to Ellen's show. Even after the show, I feel like I am going to wake up and it was all a dream.
Here is a list of all the items we received from Ellen
Photo credit: http://photos.ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/may_10_shows#66461
Pictures of Baby Ivy
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how we had a 3D/4D done to confirm that we were indeed having girl. Which, I am only now blogging about it now. Better late than never though, right? :)
So here are a couple of photos that my friend Jenni took for us from our first session. Ivy was very uncooperative and we only got one good photo. But it was super cute to see her yawn and stick her foot in her mouth! The place we went had a huge room, so the entire family came out to see it, which I think they enjoyed.
We went back a week later and she was much more cooperative this time. She did have her hands in front of her face and feet above her head for a lot of it.
A DVD of the session was included, which I am excited to have. Now if only we weren't so lazy about making a copy for my parents, who live 2000 miles away!
Isn't the technology that we have now amazing?!
So here are a couple of photos that my friend Jenni took for us from our first session. Ivy was very uncooperative and we only got one good photo. But it was super cute to see her yawn and stick her foot in her mouth! The place we went had a huge room, so the entire family came out to see it, which I think they enjoyed.
We went back a week later and she was much more cooperative this time. She did have her hands in front of her face and feet above her head for a lot of it.
A DVD of the session was included, which I am excited to have. Now if only we weren't so lazy about making a copy for my parents, who live 2000 miles away!
Isn't the technology that we have now amazing?!
Monday, April 26, 2010
100 Days!
According to my ticker, we have 100 days left! Holy Cow! Well a 100 days more or less, since it's an "estimated" due date.
A couple of weeks ago, I was complaining to the girls on the Bump how at about 20 weeks it felt like time had slowed to a crawl or been put on slow motion. Well all of a sudden it feels like someone hit fast forward!
If it could just be somewhere in between the two, I would be a happy camper. But, I have feeling that it's only going to go by more quickly!
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